Privacy Policy

Last revised and is effective as of: June 29, 2015

Smallcircles.co (“SmallCircles” or “we”) take your privacy very seriously. SmallCircles knows that you care how information about you is used and shared, and we appreciate your trust that we will do so carefully and sensibly.

By visiting Smallcircles.co, you are accepting the practices described in this Privacy Notice.
This notice describes SmallCircles’s Privacy Policy use and sharing of Personally Identifiable Information (such as your email address) that may be required when you sign up to use SmallCircles’s services, including SmallCircles mobile, SmallCircles applications and SmallCircles’s other features. It also provides information about our relationships with certain third parties that provide services in connection with the SmallCircles Services.

Information Collected by SmallCircles:

Information Provided by You: When SmallCircles collects Personally Identifiable Information from you it is because you are voluntarily submitting registration requirements to us in order to register as a member of SmallCircles. You are required to provide information such as your user name, email address and password. This information is used to set up your personal profile. As part of your personal profile, you may choose to submit additional information such as your full name, date of birth, gender, ZIP code, hobbies and interests and other content, such as photos, music, videos, etc. You can choose not to provide certain information, but then you might not be able to take full advantage of many of our features.

Automatic Information: We receive, store and analyze certain types of information which is transmitted automatically whenever you interact with us. For example, like many Web sites, we use cookies to obtain certain types of information when your Web browser accesses Smallcircles.co; Internet protocol (IP) address; login; e-mail address; password; computer and connection information such as browser type, version, and time zone setting, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system, and platform, this data is used to manage and improve the SmallCircles Services, track usage, and for security purposes; clickstream to, through, and from our Web site, including date and time; cookie number and pages you viewed or searched for. During some visits we may use software tools such as JavaScript to measure and collect session information, including page response times, download errors, length of visits to certain pages and page interaction information.

SmallCircles does not store credit card information. Credit card transactions are processed through reputable third-party financial gateways. You should check the applicable privacy policy of the third-party or financial gateway site to determine, among other things, how they will handle any personally identifiable information they collect from you.

IP Addresses:

Your computer uses IP addresses every time you are connected to the Internet. Your IP address is a number that is used by computers on the network to identify your computer so that data (such as the Web pages you request) can be sent to you. Our Web servers may be configured to automatically collect IP addresses in our logs. We also may record your IP address if you sign up for an account.

Cookies, Web Beacons and Other Technologies:

“Cookies” are small bits of information that are stored in separate files within your computer’s Internet browser. Cookies remember information about your activities on a website or other platform. For example, cookies can store your session for easy sign-in to a website or other platform you have previously visited. They enable us to make your use of the SmallCircles Services more enjoyable.

“Web beacons” We also may use services that collect data remotely by using so-called “pixel tags,” “web beacons,” “clear GIFs,” or similar means (collectively, “Pixel Tags”), which can be embedded in content and advertising on the SmallCircles Services, in an email message, or on a third party’s website or other platform. A Pixel Tag is a small string of code that provides a way for us to deliver a small graphic image (usually invisible) on a web page or in an email. Pixel Tags can recognize certain types of information on your browser, check whether you have viewed a particular web page or email message, and determine, among other things, the time and date on which you viewed the Pixel Tag, the IP address of your computer, and the URL of the web page from which the Pixel Tag was viewed. We may use Pixel Tags to improve your SmallCircles experience, including to provide you with content customized to your interests.

The Help portion of your toolbar on most browsers will tell you how to prevent your browser from accepting new cookies, how to have the browser notify you when you receive a new cookie, or how to disable cookies altogether. Additionally, you can disable or delete similar data used by browser add-ons, such as Flash cookies, by changing the add-on’s settings or visiting the Web site. However, because cookies allow you to take advantage of some of SmallCircles’s essential features, we recommend that you leave them turned on. For instance, if you block or otherwise reject our cookies, you will not be able to utilize the services that require you to Sign in.

Use and Disclosure of Information:

Information about our members is an important part of our business and we are not in the business of selling, trading or renting it to others. We use the information we receive about you in connection with the services and features we provide to you and other users like your friends and the advertisers that purchase ads on the site. For example, we may use the information we receive about you:

In order to locate other SmallCircles members that you may already know.

SmallCircles also allows members to browse for certain Profile Information in order to help connect with other members (i.e., zip code and/or city, country where members may live).

SmallCircles may use cookies and similar tools to customize the content and advertising you receive based on the Profile Information you have provided. The information used for this feature does not provide your personally identifiable information or identify you as an individual to third-parties.

Information that you voluntarily make public, including by making it a part of your profile or posting it in a review or discussion on the SmallCircles Services, will be shared with other SmallCircles users. You can control the sharing of certain information contained in your SmallCircles profile or about your activities on the SmallCircles Services with others on the Privacy Settings page.

If you have consented to receive promotional materials (e.g., newsletters) or notifications from SmallCircles, we may periodically use your email address to send you such materials.

SmallCircles may share your personally identifiable information with those who help us manage SmallCircles services’. SmallCircles employees, agents and contractors must have a legitimate business reason to obtain access to your personally identifiable information.

SmallCircles may use the information collected automatically, such as your IP address and information stored via cookies, to gather statistics about the number of people who visit SmallCircles and to customize SmallCircles content, layout and services. We may share this information with third parties to help us improve SmallCircles and better serve our users.

Closed Social Networking Site:

SmallCircles enables you to connect with other members of SmallCircles directly through the SmallCircles Services. With your consent, we may share information about your activities on SmallCircles with those users in your closed group. This section provides information on this sharing.

If you connect with one of these services, you will be able to publish information about your activities on the SmallCircles Services, such as your comments or messages you send and receive.

Third-Party Advertisers and Links to Other Websites:

SmallCircles includes third-party advertising and links to other Web sites. We do not provide any personally identifiable customer information stored by SmallCircles to these advertisers or third-party Web sites when you interact with or view a targeted advertisement.

Information Shared with Advertisers and Ad Networks. SmallCircles may share aggregate information with our advertisers so they can measure the effectiveness of advertisements viewed in connection with the SmallCircles Services. For example, we may tell advertisers the number of users who clicked on a particular advertisement.

Users who post on SmallCircles, may provide links to third party websites, which may have different privacy practices. We are not responsible for, nor have any control over, the privacy policies of those third party websites and encourage all users to read the privacy policies of each and every website visited.

We encourage you to be aware when you leave SmallCircles web site to read the privacy statements of each and every site that collects personally identifiable information.

This privacy statement applies only to information collected by SmallCircles web site.

Notice to California Residents:

If you are a California resident, California Civil Code Section 1798.83 permits you to request information regarding the disclosure of your personal information by certain members of SmallCircles to third parties for the third parties’ direct marketing purposes. With respect to these entities, this privacy policy applies only to their activities within the State of California. To make such a request, please send an email to info@smallcircles.co.

Circumstances In Which SmallCircles May Release Information:

Other Parties When Required By Law or When Necessary to Protect Your Rights or Ours

There may be instances when we may disclose your information without providing you with a choice when we believe it is appropriate to comply with the law (e.g., a lawful subpoena, warrant or court order) or with requests of law enforcement authorities; to enforce or apply this Policy or SmallCircles’s other policies or agreements; to protect SmallCircles or our users’ rights, property, safety or security; to protect our users from fraudulent, abusive, or unlawful use of SmallCircles Site; or if we reasonably believe that an emergency involving immediate danger of death or serious physical injury to any person requires disclosure of communications or justifies disclosure of records without delay.

SmallCircles may also disclose information about its users to law enforcement officers or others, if you notify us that you believe your legal rights have been violated by SmallCircles or another user of the SmallCircles Services, we may provide the information that you provide to us to others to the extent that we believe it is necessary to evaluate and respond to your complaint. For instance, if you submit a notice of copyright infringement to us, we may send a copy to the person or entity who uploaded, stored, or transmitted the material addressed by the communication.

In the event we sell or transfer all or a portion of our business, make a sale or transfer of assets, or are otherwise involved in a merger and substantially all of its assets are acquired, or in the unlikely event of an insolvency, bankruptcy or receivership, your personally identifiable information generally is one of the transferred assets involved in the transaction.

Your Profile Information:

Your user profile contains information about you that you may want to share with others. The default privacy setting for your profile will provide information only to connections in your SmallCircle rather than all members.

Protecting the privacy of your profile is your responsibility; We caution you not to share sensitive information (such as social security numbers, credit card numbers, or driver’s license numbers) with other users whom you do not know or place such information in your profile.

SmallCircles may use profile information for the purposes of providing our services to you, such as to analyze our demographics, or to better personalize our various offerings for users.

Additionally, any information you choose to display on SmallCircles, including your profile, will be viewable by other members in your SmallCircle. Certain non-identifying information, including your “profile picture” and “user name” are not viewable by non-members.

You Control Who Shares Your Information:

Your SmallCircles profile information will only be shared with people you have specifically agreed to share such information with, and to other members of groups you choose to belong to. Please take into consideration that if you choose to share your personal information (including any comments, photos or any other information) to other members on SmallCircles, you do so at your own risk. SmallCircles recommends that you don’t share your personal contact information.

To maintain privacy it is important not to share your password with anyone. Selecting a longer password with a mix of letters and numbers makes it more difficult for others to guess your password. It is also helpful to change passwords on a regular basis.

SmallCircles is designed so that the content you generate within the network (groups, blogs, events, etc.) will have an associated privacy setting. If the information being created has its own privacy control (i.e. when creating a blog), it is the users responsibility to select the desired privacy setting upon creation. Other items may inherit an existing privacy setting. It is the user’s responsibility to understand the associated privacy setting before creating content to ensure the handling of their information meets their expectations.

Information You Can Access:

SmallCircles gives you access to a broad range of information about your account and your interactions with SmallCircles for the limited purpose of viewing and, in certain cases, updating that information.

Cancelling Your Membership:

You always have the option to cancel your membership at any time. If you are a member and no longer wish to participate in Smallcircles.co network you can send an email to info@smallcircles.co with CANCEL in the subject line. Please allow 24 hours for cancellation to become effective.

Please note that, if you terminate your account, we may retain some information about you.

Children and Age Restrictions:

At Smallcircles.co we take precautions to keep our young ones safe.

Children under the age of nine (9) are not eligible to use SmallCircles and are prohibited to register with SmallCircles and/or submit any personal information to us.

SmallCircles does not knowingly collect personal information from any person who is under the age of 9. If it comes to our attention that we have collected personal data from a person under the age of 9, we will delete this information as quickly as possible. If you have reason to believe that this has occurred, please send email to support@smallcircles.co, and we will delete any such information.

Internet Awareness, Security and Confidentiality:

Whenever you voluntarily post personal information in public areas, like blogs, message boards and forums, this information can be accessed by the public and can in turn be used by others to send you unsolicited communications. SmallCircles recommends that you exercise discretion in deciding what information you disclose on the Internet.

SmallCircles uses industry standard technology designed to help keep your personal information safe. Despite these efforts, please note that no data transmission or storage can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. We want you to feel confident using the SmallCircles Services but we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us. For example, we cannot control any illegal and/or unforeseen activity of other users that may allow them to get around the privacy or security settings on the SmallCircles website. Consequently, you acknowledge that there are circumstances in which your personal information may be accessed by unauthorized persons.

We limit access to your personal information only to employees who we believe need to come into contact with that information in order to do their jobs in connection with the SmallCircles service.

If you become aware of any breach of data security or have any other questions about the security of our website, please send email to: info@smallcircles.co

Changes in Privacy Policy:

From time to time, we may revise this Privacy Policy to reflect industry initiatives or changes in the law or to the scope of the SmallCircles Services or for other reasons. Therefore, it is important to check the effective date of the Privacy Policy posted each time you visit Smallcircles.co or use any of the SmallCircles Services to ensure you are familiar with the most updated policies and practices. If we make any material revisions to this Privacy Policy, we will notify you by posting it here, so please review it frequently.

Your Comments or Concerns:

We welcome your feedback. If you have any comments or concerns about this Policy or would like to contact us for any reason, you may reach us via email at support@smallcircles.co